Lamp socket device



Aug. 15, 1939 H. J. MURPHY 2,169,964

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Patented Aug. 15, 1939 UNITED STATES i ATENT OFFICE LAMP SOCKET DEVICE-Application October 30, 1987, Serial No. 172,002

4 Claims.

My invention relates to an improved shielding means adapted to beassembled with a lamp socket device for preventing the passage offoreign mat-' ter through an aperture of a supporting panel into whichsaid socket device extends and to installations of the same.

Referring to the drawing, in which I have illustrated apreferred form ofmy invention:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a complete installation showing asocketdevice extending through an aperture of a supporting panel and myimproved shielding means assembled with the socket device and positionedso as to overlie the aperture of the panel;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the installation shown in Fig. 1 looking fromthe right of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end View of a socket device with my guide means assembledtherewith looking from the left of Fig. '1; and

Fig. 4 is: a section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

My improved shielding means is particularly, though not exclusively,intended for use with socket devices of a type now commonly used inautomobile manufacture. The socket device is adapted to extend through apanel, which may be the body of an automobile, into an enclosure havinga glass face, such as the tail light of an automobile. The preferredsocket devioe illustrated and described is detachably secured to thepanel through means of an attaching member having shouldered portionsengaging material of the panel adjacent the aperture. As a result ofthis construction of the device a lamp may be assembled with the socketbefore the socket is attached to the panel whereby the lamp, which is tobe disposed on that side of the panel having the enclosure, may beinserted from the rear of the same. It has been found that in order thatthe socket device may be secured to the panel in the aforesaid manner,it is necessary for the panel to have an aperture of substantiallylarger diameter than the diameter of that portion of the socket deviceextending through the aperture. As a result of this condition, anopening remainsbetween the outer surface of that portion of the socketdevice extending through the aperture and the edge of the aperture whichallows dust or other foreign particles to pass through the aperture andadhere to the glass of the tail light thereby tending to oppose passageof light through the glass. It is the object of my present invention toprovide a shielding means of simple construction which may be assembledwith the socket device in such a way that it will overlie and closeequal to that of the plate II.

the space between the socket device and the edge of the panel aperturewhen the socket is secured to the panel so as to prevent the passage ofdirtying matter through the space.

My preferred socket device, as illustrated and described, is similar tothe socket device which is set out in a prior application, Serial No.154,609, filed July 20, 1937, and comp-rises a socket member in the formof a tubular shell I and a tubular handle member 2 secured in end-to-endrelation through means of a tubular rivet 3 (Fig. 3). Each of themembers I and 2 is provided with an opening 4 at its connected end toallow passage of a tubular shank of the rivet 3 therethrough. The shellI is opened at its end opposed to that having the opening 4 for thepurpose of receiving and holding the base of a lamp (not shown). Thelamp may be secured to the shell I, in my preferred form, through meansof pins (not shown) extending from the base of the lamp and engagingwith bayonet slots 5 pressed out of the material of the shell. Thesocket device is preferably secured to a supporting panel 6 by means ofan attaching member I having a base portion I disposed intermediate theconnected ends of the tubular members I and 2. The base portion l has anaperture 8 adapted to receive a shank of the rivet 3 whereby theattaching member is assembled with the socket device. The attachingmember I has yieldable shouldered fingers 9 extending from the baseportion and adapted to pass through an aperture ID of the panel support6 and enter into snap fastener engagement with material of the support 6adjacent the aperture so as to secure the device to the support. It willbe noticed that the diameter of that portion of the shell I extendingthrough the aperture I0 is substantially less than the diameter of theaperture I0 whereby an opening Ill (Fig. 4) remains between the outerperipheral surface of the shell and the edge of the aperture I0.

My improved shielding means comprises, in my preferred form, a circular,substantially fiat metal plate I I and a circular part I2 of felt orother suitable material having a diameter substantially The part I2 issecured to one face of the plate II through means of attaching portionsI3 integral with the peripheral edge of the plate II. The attachingportions I3 have portions extending outwardly from the plane of theplate I I for a distance substantially equal to the thickness of thepart l2 and free end portions I3 engaging a surface of the part I2 forclamping the part to the plate. The plate II has an aperture I4substantially in the center thereof adapted to receive the shank of therivet 3 and the part I2 has an opening I therein (Fig. 3) through whichthe shell I and arms 9 of the attaching member I extend when the partsof the socket device are secured together.

In assembling the parts of my socket device, the attaching member 1 ispositioned with respect to the socket member I so that its base portionI is in adjacent relation to the end of the socket I having the aperture4 with the aperture 8 of the base in alignment with the aperture 4. Nextthe plate II is moved into adjacent relation to the outer side of thebase I of the attaching member with the aperture I4 of the base inalignment with the aperture 8 of the attaching member. Finally, thehandle member 2 is moved toward the other parts so that the end of thesame having the aperture 4 is disposed substantially adjacent the outerside of the plate I I with the opening 4 of the handle member inalignment with the openings 4, 8 and I4 of the respective other parts.The parts may now be secured together through means such as the tubularrivet 3 providing a shank portion I6 (Fig. 4) extending through theapertures of the part and a head portion I1 at each end of the shankportion engaging. material of the socket member I and handle member 2adjacent the respective openings 4, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4. Therivet 3 is of tubular form with an opening at both ends to allow passageof an electrical conductor (not shown) from the handle member 2 to anelectric contact device (not shown) contained Within the socket memberI. In my preferred installation illustrated in Fig. 4 I have shown ashielding ring I8 of felt or other suitable material disposed within theshell I. The ring I8 has a central aperture I9 of less diameter than thebore of the shank I6 of the rivet 3, but large enough to allow passageof an electrical conductor therethrough.

The socket member is detachably secured to the supporting panel 6 bymoving the shell member I through the aperture I0 of the panel until theshoulders. of the fingers 99 engage material of the panel adjacent theaperture I0. When the socket device is in secure attachment to thepanel, the material of the part I2 of the shielding means abuts anopposite face of the panel from that upon which the lamp-receiving endof the shell I is disposed and overlies the opening Ill between theouter periphery of the shell member I and the edge of the aperture II!of the panel so as to prevent any chance of foreign matter passingthrough the opening I0 into the enclosure forming the tail light.

It is understood that I do not wish to be limited by the particularinstallation hereinabove set forth because my improved shielding meansmay be assembled with devices other than the particular socket deviceillustrated and described for carrying out a similar object. Also, I donot wish to be limited to the exact form of shielding means illustratedand described because modifications may be made in the form of the samewithout departing from the scope and spirit of my present invention.

Although I have illustrated and described a preferred form of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited thereby because the scope of myinvention is best set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with an apertured supporting structure, an electricalsocket device secured to said structure, one end of said socket deviceextending through said aperture and being disposed on one side of saidstructure, the diameter of that portion of said device extending throughsaid aperture being less than the diameter of said aperture whereby anopening remains between said device and the edge of said aperture, saidsocket device comprising a pair of substan tially tubular shell membersconnected together at their ends, each of said shell members having anopening at its connected end permitting passage of a wire therethrough,and a shielding means assembled with said socket device, said shieldingmeans having an apertured plate intermediate the connected ends of saidshell members and a piece of packing material secured to said plate,said material encircling one of said shell members, and a hollow rivetmeans extending through the respective openings of the connected ends ofsaid shell members and the aperture of said plate for securing saidparts together, the material of said shielding means overlying theopening between said device and the edge of the aperture of saidsupporting structure so as to prevent passage of foreign matter throughsaid last-mentioned opening.

2. In combination with an apertured supporting structure, an electricalsocket device secured to said structure, one end of said socket deviceextending through said aperture, the diameter of that portion of saiddevice extending through said aperture being less than the diameter ofsaid aperture whereby an opening remains between said device and theedge of said aperture, said socket device comprising a pair ofsubstantially tubular shell members connected together at their ends,each of said shell members having an opening at its connected endpermitting passage of a wire therethrough, one of said shells havingmeans at an end opposed to said connected end for receiving a lamp andthe like, an attaching member having an apertured base portionintermediate the connected ends of said shells, a pair of yieldablefingers extending from said base portion, said yieldable fingers beingdisposed outside of said shell and having shoulder means in engagementwith the material of said supporting structure adjacent the aperturetherein whereby said socket device is detachably secured to saidstructure, and a shielding means having an apertured plate memberintermediate the connected ends of said shells and a piece of packingmaterial secured to said plate, said material encircling one of saidtubular shells and said pair of yieldable fingers, and a hollow rivetmeans extending through the respective openings of the connected ends ofsaid shells, said base portion. and said plate member for securing saidparts together, the material of said shielding means overlying theopening between said socket device and the edge of said aperture so asto prevent passage of foreign matter through said opening.

3. In combination with an apertured supporting structure, an electricalsocket device secured to said structure, one end of said socket deviceextending through said aperture, the diameter of that portion of saiddevice extending through said aperture being less than the diameter ofsaid aperture whereby an opening remains between said device and an edgeof said aperture, said socket device having means at one end forreceiving a lamp and the like, a shielding means having a piece ofpacking material encircling said socket device and an attaching membercarried by said socket having yieldable fingers disposed outside saidsocket device and extending through said packing material, saidyieldable fingers having shoulder means in engagement with the materialof said supporting structure adjacent the aperture therein whereby saidsocket device is detachably secured to said supporting structure, andsaid packing material overlying the opening between said device and theedge of said aperture so as to prevent passage of foreign matter throughsaid opening.

4. In combination with an apertured supporting structure, an electricalsocket device secured to said structure, one end of said socket deviceextending through said aperture, the diameter of that portion of saiddevice extending through said aperture being less than the diameter ofsaid aperture whereby an opening remains between,

said device and an edge of said aperture, said socket device havingmeans at one end for receiving a lamp and the like, a shielding meanshaving a piece of packing material encircling said socket device and anattaching member carried by said socket having a base portion at an endof said socket opposed to said lamp-receiving end and yieldable fingershaving shoulder means in engagement with the material of said supportingstructure adjacent the aperture therein whereby said socket device isdetachablly secured to said supporting structure, and said packingmaterial overlying the opening between said device and the edge of theaperture of said supporting structure so as to prevent passage offoreign matter through said last-mentioned opening.

HOWARD J. MURPHY.

